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Axial symmetry is common for cylindrical and similar 3D geometries. If the geometry is axisymmetric, there are variations in the radial (r) and vertical (z) direction only and not in the angular (θ) direction. You can then solve a 2D problem in the rz-plane instead of the full 3D model, which can save considerable memory and computation time. Many physics interfaces are available in axisymmetric versions and take the axial symmetry into account. During postprocessing, you can revolve the 2D axisymmetric solution to view the results in 3D.
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Symmetry and antisymmetry planes or lines are common in both 2D and 3D models. Symmetry means that a model is identical on either side of a dividing line or plane. For a scalar field, the normal flux is zero across the symmetry line. In structural mechanics, the symmetry conditions are different. Antisymmetry means that the loading of a model is oppositely balanced on either side of a dividing line or plane. For a scalar field, the dependent variable is 0 along the antisymmetry plane or line. Structural mechanics applications have other antisymmetry conditions. Many physics interfaces have symmetry conditions directly available as nodes that you can add to the model tree.
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